Video: PREGAME: Granato
The Sabres plan to utilize both of their goalies this season. Craig Anderson stopped 35 of 36 shots in the season-opening win over Ottawa.
"It's easy because you don't even have to explain much to him," Granato said of Anderson. "He's in it for us and for the team and for winning. We have two extremely capable goalies, we feel, but tonight the easy decision was to go back to Comrie."
Here are five more things to know about tonight's matchup.
Ilya Lyubushkin joined the team for the morning skate after missing practice on Wednesday but is not expected to play. Lyubushkin sustained an injury during the second period in Edmonton and is considered day to day, Granato said.
Here's how the team lined up during the morning skate, with Casey Fitzgerald slotting in Lyubushkin's place alongside Jacob Bryson:
| October 20 at Calgary |
| --- |
| LW | C | RW |
| 53 Jeff Skinner | 72 Tage Thompson | 89 Alex Tuch |
| 74 Rasmus Asplund | 37 Casey Mittelstadt | 71 Victor Olofsson |
| 77 JJ Peterka | 24 Dylan Cozens | 29 Vinnie Hinostroza |
| 19 Peyton Krebs | 28 Zemgus Girgensons | 21 Kyle Okposo |
| | | |
| LD | RD | G |
| 23 Mattias Samuelsson | 26 Rasmus Dahlin | 31 Eric Comrie |
| 25 Owen Power | 10 Henri Jokiharju | 41 Craig Anderson |
| 78 Jacob Bryson | 45 Casey Fitzgerald | |
| | | |
Fitzgerald played 36 games for Buffalo last season, during which he displayed many of the same defensive, hard-to-play-against qualities that Lyubushkin adds to the lineup.
He was asked pregame what he hopes to bring in his season debut.
"Just that physicality," he said. "That competitiveness and being able to play strong in my own end, bring that tenacity and aggravating type game. Doing whatever it takes for our team whether it's blocking shots, taking a hit, or making a good first pass. Hopefully that's what we're all going to bring tonight and hopefully I can add to it."
Video: PREGAME: Fitzgerald
Rasmus Dahlin has goals in each of the Sabres' first three games. He's the first defenseman in franchise history to accomplish that feat and only the third in the NHL to do so in the last 40 years (joining Calle Johansson in 1992-93 and Victor Hedman in 2014-15).
He would enter even more exclusive territory with a goal tonight, which would make him the first defenseman in NHL history to record a season-opening, four-game goal streak according to NHL Stats.
Calgary remade the top of its roster during the summer, replacing a pair of 100-point forwards in Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri while adding MacKenzie Weegar on defense.
The early results are positive. Kadri has a team-high four points and Huberdeau has three assists during the Flames' 3-0-0 start, which continued with a win over the Golden Knights on Tuesday.
Despite the personnel change, Granato said he expects the Darryl Sutter-coached Flames to continue to have a personality that contrasts to their high-flying neighbors in Edmonton.
"I think it'll be different than the Oilers
